March–April 1605 Conclave
elected Leo XI14 March – 1 April 1605 · The early modern conclaves · Apostolic Palace, Papal States
The March–April 1605 conclave was convened on the death of Clement VIII and ended with the election of Cardinal Alessandro de' Medici as Pope Leo XI. It was the first of the two papal conclaves in 1605; Leo XI died on 27 April 1605, just twenty-six days after he was elected.
Elected pope
Leo XI
Alessandro de' Medici
Succeeded
Clement VIII
Duration
19 days
Cardinal electors
60
locked in under conclave rules
Ballot-by-ballot tallies are destroyed by design — the paper is burned in the stove whose smoke announces the result — so this entry records what the Church documents: the dates, the electors, the number of ballots where known, and the man who walked out onto the balcony.